All eyes and ears (both human and puppet) have been on Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind the beloved “Sesame Street” character Elmo, ever since news spread earlier this week that a man accused Clash of having sex with him while he was still underage. Things seemed to be going downhill fast for Clash and his career, but things are now looking up, as the young man has now recanted his story, saying he was actually an adult during their relationship.
In a statement released by TMZ, the accuser’s lawyers say, “[The accuser] wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship. [The accuser] will have no further comment.”
Originally, the young man claimed that he and Clash struck up a relationship seven years ago when he was 16 and Clash was 45. Clash admitted that he was in a relationship with his accuser, but denied that it happened when he was underage, instead saying that the young man was an adult when they had sex.
Clash was disciplined by Sesame Workshop for using the company email to send messages to his accuser and yesterday an email that was sent to his accuser in 2010 (well after he was 18) was released to the public.
“I’m sorry that I keep talking about sex with you, its driving me insane.” Clash wrote. “I want you to know that I love you and I will never hurt you. I’m here to protect you and make sure your dreams come true.”
Clash maintains that his relationship with his accuser was consensual and confirmed that he is a “gay man” and has “never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt [my relationship with the accuser] was a personal and private matter.”
It’s unclear why Clash’s accuser changed his story so suddenly, but sources claim that his attorney had been meeting with Clash’s attorney up until an hour before news of his retraction broke and talks of a six-figure settlement were on the table.
“I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further,” Clash said in a statement.
We’ll all just have to wait and see if Clash resumes his post as Elmo puppeteer, but he’s not the only star that’s been accused of sexual activity with a minor. Check out other stars in his shoes. – nicholas robinson
